Buckingham Palace is closed,
preparing for Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
So, we can only visit the backyard,
St. James Park.
The British Museum
Gimbal is banned
in the British Museum.
All the footages are taken bare hands.
The footages are shaking,
which forced me into
looking at alternatives
and found IBIS
could be the savior.
Selfridges
Haha, High tea
Windsor castle
Queen Elizabeth liked
to spend her weekends here.
Tower of London
It was a royal fortress.
William I the Conqueror
began in 1066
to erect
fortifications on the site
to dominate
the indigenous mercantile community. to dominate
the indigenous mercantile community.
The White Tower
started about 1078
close inside
the old Roman city wall. close inside
the old Roman city wall.
It was a royal palace,
a political prison,
a place of execution,
an arsenal,
a royal mint,
a menagerie,
and a public records office.
airbnb in London
Westminster Abbey
Royal tombs
Sir Isaac Newton
was also buried here,
actually in a prominant location.
Westminster Hall.
This is the parlament building.
Waiting Room.
Leading to lower house meeting room.
Chambord
was build beween
1519 and 1547.
It was a hunting lodge!
It was said
that Leonardo da Vinci
designed
the double spiral staircase. designed
the double spiral staircase.
Two people,
while one acending and one decending,
can keep each other in view
but never meet.
The castle originally
belonged to Louis d'Amboise,
hence the name
Amboise castle.
On September 4, 1431
it was seized by Charles VII.
Following the Italian war,
Charles brought
Italian architects and artisans
to work on the castle,
and turned it into
Italianate palace in France.
Chenonceau castle
In 16th century
King Henry II
gave the castle as a gift
to his mistress
Diane de Poitiers.
After Henry II died
his widow Catherine de Medici
removed Diane from Chenonceau.
Catherine sought
to erase Diane's influence,
She had the gallery build
above the bridge,
and then
transformed into a ballroom.
Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont,
wife of King Henry III,
Catherine's son,
inherited the castle
upon Catherine's death. inherited the castle
upon Catherine's death.
Fastforward to world war II,
it was converted into a hospital.
The poor casle was first bombed by Germans.
They then occupied the castle,
which in turn meant
that it was bombed by the Allies.
The Palace of Versailles
was built
by King Louis XIV.
Gardens of Versailles.
Today much of the network of hydraulics
in use
are still the ancient one.
Latona and her children,
Apollo and Diana
Peasants refused to let them
drink from their pond,
tormented them with mud slung.
Jupiter turned them into frogs.
It was said that
this was the origin of mud slinging.
Fountain of Apollo.
Greek god Apollo rising from the sea
in a four horse chariot.
Louis XIV call him self Apollo.
Neptune fountain
Trianon
It was built at the request
of King Louis XIV
as a retreat for himself
and his mistress
Marquise de Montespan.
This concludes
Grand Trianon
This is the only trail
leading to Petite Trianon.
On April 15, 2019
a fire broke out beneth the roof.
The fire closed
Notre Dame cathedral.
Now it is under restoration.
Petit Palais
Grand Palais
Pont Alexandre III
Louvre Palace
was originally built
under Philip II.
Francis I converted it into
primary residence
of the French Kings.
It is called equestrain Louis XIV,
But is really a mythological
Roman warrior Marcus Curtius,
altered from initial
Louis XIV sculpture,
because he didn't like it.
Crown of Louis XV
Caryatids room
Diana of Versailles.
A.K.A. Artemis
Hermaphroditus.
He was a son of Hermes
and Aphrodite.
Greek mythology had it
that Nymph Salmacis
was over come by his beauty,
and asked god
let them be together forever.
So the two merged into one body.
Monalisa
The next day,
it was vandalized
These should be handguns
Don't know where this door leads to.
Before
After
Ieoh Ming Pei designed this Pyramid
I never can like it,
and don't see it fits in here.
Basilica of the Secred Heart
Opera House
Luxembourg Garden